The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1887-10-08
Anarchy in New Jersey

The riot at Union Hill. few day ago.
is precisely what may be expected
wherever the lawless foreign element
that has landed on our shores is allowed
to get the upper hand Of the law and
order. These aliens, most Of whom are
ignorant of the language of American
citizens, and all Of whom are probably
absolutely ignorant of the principles and
theory of the Constitution of the Re-
public, are of the same kidney as the
seven men now under sentence OF death,
in Chicago. They had prepared to hold
a great meeting at Union Hill, and had
circulated call in which they declared
that ''seven innocent men, should never
be 'judicially murdered. This was an
emphatic invitation to all who desired to
Join in resisting the sentence and judg-H
ments of the courts. 1t was sanguInary
defiance of the law of the land. AS If to.
make their foreign birth and alien sympa-
thies more pronounced and unmistakablc,
they had decorated their hall with the
red flag of the Commune, and the black
banners of piracy and "no quarter. ;"
" hen the police resisted their entrance.
into the building, they cried out with
curses upon the Constitution and the
law. They took every possible means to
show their hostility to the land that gives
them asylum, and the laws under which
they are protected in life and property.
There is no room in this Republic, GER
tainly none in New Jersey, for these
vermin. They hate us and hate our
institutions and have come over here to
set up system OF anarchy, availing
themselves of the most expansive free
dom enjoyed by any people in the world.
There is no danger, 1t is true, that the
vast mass OF the American people can be
corrupted by the handful of Anarchists
who have invaded the country they are
comparatively few in number; but we
cannot afford to allow them to get the
advantage of us in any single community.
They must be dealt with relentlessly and
with vigor. Law is supreme in this land
of ours, and, while we permit peaceful
and reasonable discussion of the doings
of the courts, the least suggestion of
forcible resistance to their decree is
reasonable, revolutionary, and must not
be permitted. An assembly that pro-
~ cn1.f nf IN VI
must not be permitted.
The most exasperating feature of the
movement against our institutions is the
arrogance of the invaders. These men
have been expelled from their own
country, or they have not dared to air
at home their revolutionary doctrines.
They have cast their eyes upon our Re-
public, where the largest liberty is al
lowed to the citizen, and they have
thought this freedom would enable them
to plot against soCiM orders without
danger of punishment or fear Of check
The mistake Of these people has been
exposed by the arrest, trial, conviction
and sentence of the seven condemned
men in Chicago There is no possible
objection to the friends of these men ex-
hausting every possible legal device to
delay their punishment and even extri-
/ cate them from their predicament. Like
Jacob Sharp, they may go from court 10
court, invoke all the agencies of the
| judicial branch of the Government and
invoke clemency in their behalf. The
right of petition is sacred, and the right
to intercede for the worst of criminals
cannot be taken away. But even the
| limits of our large freedom are exhausted
there. 1t is trial of the public patience
that Jacob Sharp, whose guilt nobody
presumes to deny, should so long evade
just punishment. 1t is trial of public
patience that seven men who have been
regularly tried and convicted of murder
should have SO long escaped the gallows.
| But, in the interest of law and social
order, these trials must be endured The
statutes provide ample means to test the
validity of the action of the lower courts
by appeals to the very highest tribunals
in the land; and it is not until the last
legal resort has been reached that fur
ther efforts for review of the case is at
an end. The Union Hill revolutionists
propose an appeal from the courts to the
people, taking care beforehand to say
that the execution of the condemned
convicts would be sjudicial murder
and that it must not be permitted. Such
language is incendiary and is purposIy
designed to foment riot and revolution.
1t is not an appeal to law. but an appeal
from the law. These invaders must be
taught wholesome lesson. They have
no rights in the American Rebublic that
are superior to men of American citizen
ship. And if they do not like our govern
ment Of law, they may go elsewhere and
find, if possible, what they want. We
have freedom Of speech in plenty. The
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